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012 - PWPW Bee Test Note
| Issuer | Polish Security Printing Works (Polska Wytwórnia Papierów Wartościowych S.A.) |
|---|---|
| Year | 2012 |
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| Printer | Polish Security Printing Works (Polska Wytwórnia Papierów Wartościowych S.A.), Warsaw, Poland (1919-date) |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette in intaglio of a large honeybee (Apis mellifera) foraging on a flowering plant, with a honeycomb and clustered bees at lower left and a flight-cycle diagram at right. The printer's name is inscribed in the upper left in letterpress, with the series designator '012' appearing twice in gold and teal. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | 012 robotnica truten królowa matka Pszczoła miodna występuje tam, gdzie rosną rośliny kwitnące. Kyje w rojach, żywi się nektarem, pyłkiem i spadzią. Robotnice osiągają długość 15 mm, żyją od 4 do 24 tygodni. Trutnie mają około 20 mm, żyją od 4 do 5 tygodni. Królowa matka mierzy około 22 mm i żyje nawet do 7 lat. (Translation: 012 worker bee drone queen bee The honeybee is found wherever flowering plants grow. It nests in swarms, feeding on nectar, pollen, and honeydew. Worker bees reach a length of 15 mm and live from 4 to 24 weeks. Drones are about 20 mm and live from 4 to 5 weeks. The queen bee measures about 22 mm and lives up to 7 years.) |
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| Comments |
PWPW produces these test notes specifically to demonstrate and market their security substrate and printing capabilities to potential government clients — they are trade samples, not currency. The 2012 bee-themed piece was part of a broader push by PWPW to promote their proprietary polymer technology at a time when several central banks were actively reconsidering paper substrates. These notes were never intended for circulation and were distributed in limited quantities at industry events and to institutional contacts.
The inclusion of a watermark on a polymer substrate is the technical point of interest here — simulating a watermark effect on plastic film requires a different optical approach than traditional laid paper, and demonstrating it convincingly is precisely the kind of proof-of-concept these notes exist to provide.